Flickr Taxonomy - The Gearheads

Today on Flickr Taxonomy: The Gearheads!

The Gearheads are a group of male photographers who are beholden to a philosophy that any photo, no matter how mundane or uninspiring the subject, can become something great if the lens that takes the photo is sharp enough, or if the camera used to take the photo is new enough.

Since they haven't received invites to shoot for National Geographic or Magnum after posting some really sharp photos of their three year old playing with bubbles, or macros of their Chrysanthemums, the Gearhead is left to believe that the perfect lens or body still isn't in their grasp. This leads to the endless cycle of equipment buying which is the driving force of the economy of digital photography.

The Gearhead is always looking forward for Canon or Nikon to develop The Holy Grail of photo equipment that will finally push his images over the edge. For The Gearhead, the dark ages of photography is the time period previous to the most recent Photokina event.

A few traits to help identify a Gearhead.

1. His avatar is a picture of him holding a camera with a ginormous white lens.

An avatar such as this is a strong indication of a Gearhead, but it doesn't always mean that he is one. Take a moment to checkout his photo stream. If it is full of images taken from the sidelines of college or professional level sporting event, then he is probably cool. Same goes for images of lions and tigers that aren't in captivity.

However, if it is full of pictures taken during a youth hockey event, or of house cats, then a Gearhead is a strong possibility.

2. His sets & collections are all gear based.

Take a moment to check out his sets & collections. They'll usually have a few sets for unspectacular subjects such as Sunsets, or St. Elmeow, his bright orange calico cat.  These sets will never account for more than 40% of his work. The bulk of his sets will be images grouped by which camera body or lens was used to make the photo.

3. If you're not a photographer yourself, you'd never be able to understand his images by reading the image's title.

Common sense tells you that is a picture of a cat. The title of the image will try to tell you differently. You can trust my word on it and know that the title is irrelevant. It is just a cat.

Think that 70-200 2,8 L US USM @ 200 is really just the Gearheadanese phrase for Bald Eagle? Think again! It's just him trying to convince you that the equipment is more important than the results.

4. His profile is mostly an inventory of his equipment.

How many lines of text are dedicated to listing out all the equipment that he own? If it is more then ten, and more then 50% of their profile, then you may have cornered a Gearhead.

While the common Gearhead will list only his camera bodies & lenses, the Alpha Gearheads will go even further and list every tri-pod, filter, flash, step-up ring, cable release and camera bag that he owns. If you ever meet an Alpha Gearhead in person, Never show your latest lens purchase to him. Before you know it you'll be suckered into a day long excursion at his home making sample images and studying MTF charts of the results to determine if your lens is sharp enough to justify the price you paid for it.

5. Behavioral Studies.

If there is still some doubt as to whether or not a particular Flickr member is a Gearhead, there is one more trait to look for. Unlike the last four traits, this one requires some patience.

First, browse through the groups that he is a part of until you find one where he is active on the discussion boards. Monitor that board for a year or so and you should notice the following behavioral pattern.

1. He will first make a post linking to the latest greatest thing X at dpreview.com
2. A few weeks to a month later, he make a post bragging about how he just spend $2500 on thing X.
3. This is followed about a series of posts about how thing X has made his work so much easier, and so much better. These posts will go on for a few months.
4. Eventually he will make a post about the newest latest and greatest thing Y at dpreview.com.
5. Soon after, he will start a post offering to sell thing X to raise money for thing Y.
6. A few weeks to a month later, he will make a post bragging about how he just spend $2500 on thing Y.
7. This is followed about a series of posts about how thing Y has made his work so much easier, and so much better. These posts will go on for a few months.
8. Eventually he will make a post about the new latest and greatest thing Z at dpreview.com.
9. Soon after, he will start a post offering to sell thing Y to raise money for thing Z.
10. Continue Ad nauseam.

More Flickr Taxonomy

• The Girl Watchers
• The This is my life users
• The Gearheads